Cook’s century puts England in driver's seat

England's Alastair Cook plays a shot during the second day of the third test match between India and England at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Thursday. Photo: K.R. Deepak

The Hindu

M S Dhoni lofts the ball for a six during the second day of the third test match between India and England at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on December 06, 2012. Photo: K.R. Deepak

Indian bowlers lack penetration and look insipid after the home team folds up for 316

The Indians are discovering their shortcomings in a stark manner. If batting was an area of concern on the first day, the home team’s bowling was embarrassingly mediocre in the face of a determined England response at the Eden Gardens here on Thursday.

A sunny day produced some bright cricket, definitely enjoyable if you happened to be an English supporter. It was also enjoyable if you happened to value correct and classical cricket. That is what England produced on the second day of the third Test, finishing at 216 for one, trailing by 100 runs.

India resumed at 273 for seven and folded up for 316.

M.S. Dhoni powering his way to a half-century was a pleasant happening but India looked clueless against the England openers, Alastair Cook (136 batting) and Nick Compton (57). The robust 165-run start the two gave was just the platform England had backed itself to thrive on. This was Test cricket at its best as England grabbed the opportunity to establish an imposing grip.

Unprecedented situation

Can’t bat, can’t bowl. The Indian camp faced an unprecedented situation this afternoon as Cook and Compton got down to serious business of accumulating runs. Discipline had to be the most important ingredient of their batting approach and the English openers did not relent. Confidence became an inseparable part of their vocation as Cook and Compton complemented each other with emphasis on percentage cricket.

There was hardly a false stroke from Cook and Compton; hardly a hurried shot.

True, Cook, on 17, offered Cheteshwar Pujara a tough, low chance at first slip off Zaheer Khan but that edge was a forgettable aberration in a most wonderful demonstration of batting that saw the England captain becoming the highest century maker in Tests for England. His 23rd century, fifth in succession as captain and third of this series, took him past Geoff Boycott, Colin Cowdrey, Wally Hammond and Kevin Pietersen.

If Pujara was a wrong man at first slip, the bowlers looked woefully out of place too. The bowlers toiled and looked insipid.

The seamers lacked the bite and the spinners the guile to make an impact. It was tough to recall the ball beating the bat and tougher to remember the bowler creating a semblance of a chance to snare the batsmen. Cook and Compton gave nothing away.

Air of assurance

Cook, 27, loves to grind the bowlers. This is a distinct quality that separates him from some of the best in business. An opener with the perfect grooming, Cook brings lot of dignity to the art of scoring runs. There is an air of assurance in his preparation from the time he steps on to the field, takes guard, glances at the field and settles into his stance.

The bat is always straight and footwork rarely faulty. The England captain is so good at adapting that good bowlers look commonplace when he is on strike. The Indian attack does not fall in this category. It was pedestrian this day.

Compton is said to be a stickler for training. He loves to bat and bat. One could discern it from his methods this afternoon. Nothing could tempt him into making a mistake.

He obviously places high value on his cricket and the Indians found out this day with some unpleasant treatment from the English openers. The bowlers stood exposed as Cook and Compton revelled through the day, driving the seamers and sweeping the spinners.

India’s bowlers lacked penetration and failed to contain either. The bad deliveries were punished but Cook and Compton were remarkably patient in picking the very loose deliveries. It was the right attitude against bowlers who refused to improve.

The field placements also did not match the bowling line and runs came at a fairly easy pace. Cook and Compton were the masters in the middle until the latter got a rough decision, ruled leg before after having gloved the ball.

Utter frustration

Dhoni’s demeanour resembled that of a defeatist. He watched, in utter frustration, England take a commanding position with his counterpart leading from the front. True, Dhoni’s half century gave a glimpse of his instinct to fight but bowlers let him down with their benign stuff.

Swing, reverse-swing and turn remained alien to the Indian bowlers and Dhoni just stood helplessly, a striking contrast to the ebullient and energetic Cook.

The England captain was the undisputed performer of the day, in keeping with his reputation and stature, leaving India a worried camp.

Cook is playing a captain's knock and the Englishmen really are showing how to play overseas with panache. Captain DHONI and team should learn some lessons from here.
ENglishmen are in toatal command here with cook and trott making a mockery of indian bowling attack. I hope india could atleast save the match which looks so impossible right now.
Eng: 274/1...at the time of writing the comment.

from:
nikhil jalali

Posted on: Dec 7, 2012 at 10:24 IST

@ Rajeev:- This is not the fault of curator. England restricted us to 316 runs on the same pitch couple of days ago. This shows the failure of Indian bowlers.

from:
Sagar

Posted on: Dec 7, 2012 at 08:25 IST

Will the selectors have the courage to make drastic changes for the Nagpur test? I doubt it. No other test-playing country (except Bangladesh and Zimbabwe) would tolerate so many failures for so long.

from:
Mahadevan

Posted on: Dec 7, 2012 at 07:17 IST

Absolutely humiliating and embarassing to see India get insulted in India..it's a shame.we need to learn from our mistakes....but it looks like india is not ready for tests yet without dravid and laxman..but i beleive that india can do better....this is a matter of just settling down..hope they do well in the last test and level the series.

from:
Sriram

Posted on: Dec 7, 2012 at 06:29 IST

Cricket matches are won by the eleven playing members and not by curators. Let us accept the fact that we are not matching up to the skills of the British team.

from:
jagat

Posted on: Dec 7, 2012 at 06:27 IST

How some of the so called preparations play in the minds and hearts of the home side fans. We have lot of desires to fulfill. We wish to win at any cost or any manner. However, pitches alone do not win matches. Players make the matches as evidently proven may a time. As the old saying goes, God help those who help themselves!

from:
Patriot

Posted on: Dec 7, 2012 at 06:00 IST

Losers always find some else to blame than themselves for their loss.

from:
shouvik mukhpadhayay

Posted on: Dec 7, 2012 at 05:15 IST

The same old Indian cricket and it's crazy fans blaming the pitch and not lack of technique, determination or intensity. Great going guys, soon India will feature only in IPL where the only requirement is a flat pitch. Indian team is so pathetic that instead of learning the art of adaptability and determination from English players they are arrogant enough to blame it on the pitch. Quit playing cricket guys you are a shame to the gentlemen game.

from:
Prasun

Posted on: Dec 7, 2012 at 01:55 IST

There is no point blaming the curator. The Indian team threw their wickets away. Period. They could've set a competitive score but a display of poor technique, spineless leadership, and an utter lack of fighting spirit led to the cave in. It all boils down to performance as a team and as an individual. This team needs to watch the current SA team led by the same master - Gary Kirsten - who was instrumental in bringing the Indian team to the top, except that the current leadership is unable to sustain it. Why?

from:
zingman

Posted on: Dec 7, 2012 at 01:24 IST

How exasperating this is. It is also quite pathetic. This reflects the mentality of the Indians: their unwillingness to adapt. What is worse, is the lack of a professional approach by the Indian Board of Selectors or those people who are in decision-making positions. After the shameful tours to England and Australia where the Indian team quite miserably showed they could not play pace-bowling, we all thought that they would wake up, turn over a new page, and start playing on pitches suited for pace-bowling. Instead they prefer to continue down the old losing path, unwilling to adapt. Now that the English team has shown them that they can beat them in India on their specially prepared spin-pitches, is it possible that they will learn. As they say in Spanish, “there is no one deafer than he who does not want to hear”.
As a South American (Guyana) of Indian descent, I am totally disgusted and sickened by this attitude.
Deva Anand Dwarka,
Baltimore, USA

from:
Deva A Dwarka

Posted on: Dec 6, 2012 at 22:23 IST

It is sad that the curator is blamed for a below-par performance by India. On the same pitch, the English bowlers have done well - imagine what would have happened to our "batsmen" if the pitch had assisted turn and bounce from day one! Likewise has not changed a whit in nature, but the English batsmen have persevered and flourished, whereas our batsmen perished. It is not pitches that need to be doctored - the most supportive one cannot substitute for attitude, which our team currently seems to lack.

from:
Subramanyam

Posted on: Dec 6, 2012 at 21:02 IST

The previous comment is in very bad taste. The Indian batsmen could also have capitalized on the pitch, and Cook has made double centuries on badly turning pitches . A bad workman blames his tools.

from:
Shibin Kuriakose

Posted on: Dec 6, 2012 at 20:31 IST

I personally, don't feel the curator is at fault. India batted like chumps, notwithstanding England's relentless attack. India is on the decline after the retirements of stalwarts like Ganguly, Kumble, Rahul, and VVS, and rebuilding should take place immediately after this series. Dhoni, to begin with should be relieved of captaincy for Tests only. He is a brilliant captain for the other two versions. In his place Gambhir should be given the role, for one series at a time. Pujara is a good batsman, and is fine for the no. 3 slot. Kohli should be given a few more chances, but told to tighten his technique. He should not play test cricket in ODI or 20/20 mode. Yuvi, can be retained for another year perhaps. Zaheer and Ishant should be 'rested', and Bhajji given his pension papers! Sehwag, can be allowed another couple of series and then reassessed. We should bring in Rahane, Tiwari, Chand, and a few other youngsters. This is the time to make a complete overhaul of the team.

from:
jack

Posted on: Dec 6, 2012 at 19:45 IST

There is a saying in Telugu: `Aadaleni bomma maddilavadi pina padi kottukonnadanta' (The lousy dancer blames the tabla player for her missteps). If it is not a turning pitch and flat, how come Indian batsmen failed against spin and pace alike? The Englishmen are showing how to bat and bowl. Dhoni and company should just shut up and look at their own game. The curator cannot cure their ills!

from:
n.patri

Posted on: Dec 6, 2012 at 17:57 IST

@Rajeev
Surely you must be joking? We should be thanking the curator for not coming up with a spin-friendly pitch. Going by what happened in Mumbai, the Indian team might not have reached even 200 in its first innings. More seriously, Indian fans need to begin boycotting the IPL. That might be the only way to hold the BCCI accountable for the debacle that has unfolded over the past year and half.

from:
Ninad

Posted on: Dec 6, 2012 at 17:40 IST

Dear Rajeev,

On a turning track India lost in 4 days. Why blame the pitch? Why not admit Indians are not good enough. Indians are not hungry enough for victory. Bottom line is Indians are hoping that England will loose this series but not making an effort to win the series.

This test is for England to loose and not for India to win. India needs a good spinner to exploit the conditions. 20-20 players like Ashwins and Yuvraj are not suitable for test cricket.

from:
SUNNY

Posted on: Dec 6, 2012 at 17:37 IST

We saw the greatness of our batting line-up in the Mumbai test. So please readers think twice before writing any sham. The problem is we do not know to bat in Test Cricket and we only know to play T20 matches in Indian flat tracks.

from:
Vijay

Posted on: Dec 6, 2012 at 17:37 IST

Better INDIA completely loose the very game of cricket so that we can pay attention to other worthy sports which bring MEDALS to our nation in
OLYMPICS & ASIAD.
The death of INDIAN Cricket will save us from shame at olympics and asiads.

from:
LAKHAN

Posted on: Dec 6, 2012 at 17:36 IST

There is no point in cursing the curator when our players are not playing well. Monty is getting wickets regularly and they are batting beutifully then why can't our players can play well in the same track.
there is an old proverb in bengali:"one who does not know to dance ,always blames the stage for failure". It is the same for dhoni and his men.

from:
Shantanu

Posted on: Dec 6, 2012 at 17:04 IST

Well if India cannot bat well in typical subcontinent conditions, whats the point in blaming the curator or conditions. I doubt that we would have done any better in turning wickets as was seen in Mumbai test. Our batting in current form lacks substance to win/save a test match. Home advantage isnt just getting a pitch of your choice. Its also about crowd, familiar weather conditions and many more, which the Indian team already enjoys. We must give credit to the England team to have adapted well.

from:
Benny

Posted on: Dec 6, 2012 at 16:36 IST

England batsmen are cruising on the pitch with Cook batting like a Conqueror of Subcontinent pitches . They are making a mockery of Indian bowlers with Ashwin being hit all over the park . Its time for Zaheer to show his class and claim some wickets with his famous reverse swing !!

from:
anand

Posted on: Dec 6, 2012 at 15:12 IST

Now we can see the wisdom of Dhoni's requests for a turning pitch. Thanks to the petulance and obstinacy of the senile pitch curator at Eden Gardens, we have given England a chance to bat comfortably (at the current point of time of writing this they are cruising at 138/0) and India will most likely lose this test because of the misdeeds of the curator.